eagleseven
Quod Erat Demonstrandum
Investors.com - Surge In FHA Loans May Spur Big Losses For U.S. Taxpayers
Skyrocketing growth in loans from the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae have helped support the mortgage market — but could leave taxpayers on the hook for massive new losses.
FHA-insured loans have more than tripled from 530,000 in fiscal year 2007 to 1.7 million thus far in 2009. The Government National Mortgage Association, which securitizes FHA loans, has boosted its mortgage-related issuance to $287 billion from $85 billion.
Yet during that same period, the FHA's loan delinquency rate has climbed to 14.4% in Q2 from 12.6% two years earlier.
Adding to the concern, the FHA's fund to cover losses has dropped to a projected 3% of insured loans. That's a leverage ratio of 33-to-1, the level banking giant Bear Stearns was at before it failed.
It seems the Federal Housing Administration is in critical condition...and is threatening to smite this recovery before it even starts. Can we afford to bailout this disaster-waiting-to-happen?
Not good.
See also:
Loan Losses Spark Concern Over FHA - WSJ.com
The Coming FHA Bail-Out | Cato @ Liberty
On the other hand, the FHA bureaucracy says there is nothing to worry about:
U.S. FHA says won't need congressional support | Markets | Markets News | Reuters